This book was tricky to rate – I veered between three an four out of five. But there’s a pretty simply reason for that – it can be difficult to read at times, and the smallprint also makes it feel as though you’re not making much progress. For some people, it might be off-putting, but it’s worth persevering with, especially if you’re interested in the subjectmatter.

This book is interesting because it tells the realstory of what happened when Graham Greene travelled around Mexico in 1938, just before the start of the Second World War. He was there on commission – the Catholicchurch wanted to find out more about the state of religiouspersecution in the country. As a result of this, the book has two particular quirks which simultaneously make it harder to read and more intriguing. The first is the references to religion, which might not make much sense unless you, yourself, are a Catholic. And the same goes for Mexicanwords and placenames – unless you pay attention, they all start to sound the same.

But still, if you like to read books that give your brain a workout, give this a try. It’s like travelling, but from your armchair.